Blog
One Year Later...Lessons from the Pandemic
On Saturday, March 14, 2020, I finally surrendered to the reality that there was no avoiding the Coronavirus and that my daily life was about to change. In an instant, my business went from 95% face-to-face to a virtual business.
Read MoreBEWARE OF SCAMMERS
I just got a call saying that my Social Security number had been used to commit a financial crime in Texas and that I needed to press ‘1’ immediately to be connected with law enforcement. A bad call to get under any...
Read MoreAvoiding Scams, Phishing, Malware and Other Unpleasant Stuff
For the past few weeks, I've been bombarded with information about Coronavirus from local government agencies and from legitimate corporate sources with whom I do businesses. Slowly, but surely, the SCAMMERS AND FRAUDSTERS followed...
Read More10-Years To Solve My Problem In 90-Days
Sometimes the struggle isn't knowing what to do, but rather getting organized and dedicating the time to do it. Read my story on how it took me 10-years to solve my health problem in only 90-days.
Read MoreShopping Lists Help You Win
BEWARE of the aisle caps in the big box stores. These companies are on a mission to move the money from your wallet into their wallet. One way to combat the marketing genius of these stores is to stay on YOUR mission through the use of...
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No Special Workouts
During my first season on the high school track team, I had momentarily dropped out of a particularly difficult track practice and was standing on the side of the track. I leaned forward and gripped my knees as I gasped for air. My...
Read MoreOne Number Budget
During the economic downturn in 2008, one of my longtime clients reached out to me to schedule an emergency financial review meeting. His employer just announced all employees would be taking a temporary 10% pay cut so they...
Read MoreBIG FAT SQUIRREL!!
For the past few weeks, I’ve been watching the bird feeder and thinking that my neighborhood had the hungriest birds on the planet. Every time we’d fill up the bird feeder, within a day the food was mostly gone. This...
Read MoreHabits: Finding Yourself Off the Path
Running is a positive habit I’ve been able to maintain for the past 12-years. In high school it was sprints, but as I got older I gravitated towards endurance running (mainly because that is what old dudes can do). :) Last year I...
Read MoreWhat is the Market Going to Do?
This is common question during times of market volatility. The Wall Street prognosticators on television, on the Internet and in the print media love to share their opinions on this topic. But, they don’t know. The same thing is...
Read MoreImpulse Spending! Amazon Got Me!
It is my fault. I could have been stronger in the moment, but last week – Amazon got me. When I was a kid growing up in the New York Tri-State area, most of the delicatessens and the convenience stores sold coffee in these blue...
Read MoreSeize a Pain Free Opportunity to Increase Your Wealth
The news media is reporting that in January 2018, many Americans will be seeing a larger amount of money in their paychecks. This is due to a decrease in the tax withholding that Payroll Departments employ on behalf of Federal and...
Read MoreINFLATION: Progress or Treading Water?
In 2003 I was meeting with a 35-year old client with an annual income of $150,000. During our cash flow discussion, I shared with him that I expected that by the time he was 50-years old that he’d be earning close to $250,000....
Read MoreOpen Enrollment: Make the Most of Up to 30% of Your Compensation
Depending on where you work, its possible that up to 30% of Your Compensation is employee benefits.[i] For a hypothetical worker earning a $100,000 salary, their benefits package of health insurance, 401(k) match, long-term disability...
Read MoreLife Insurance has its own MONTH??
September is Life Insurance Awareness Month (LIAM). The cynic in me wants to ignore it because it sounds like a false holiday used to promote and sell stuff. My experience says differently and I see it as an annual reminder for...
Read MoreBook Excerpt from Healthy Money: Making a Successful Transition from Resident to Attending
The following blog post is an excerpt from my new book "Healthy Money: Making a Successful Transition from Resident to Attending" Copies of the book are available (paperback and Kindle) on Amazon. A link to the book page is at the...
Read MoreTechnological Change and Your Paycheck
When I was 27, I worked for the Sprint Corporation selling land based long-distance phone and data services. Sitting in my cube one day, a thought hit me like a ton of bricks. I pushed with my legs hard and drove my wheeled chair into...
Read MoreFinancial Success. Isn’t There an APP For That?
Whenever I speak at a conference, during Q&A someone will ask me to recommend an app, website or a book that will help them become financially successful. Truthfully, I wish it were that simple, but odds are the website or book...
Read MoreCan We Retire?
Towards the end of a financial review meeting with a young couple, I asked if they had any other questions. Making a joke, the husband asked, “Can we retire?!? They were a little caught off guard when I answered with, “Yes...
Read MoreMoves to Make for 2017
Happy Holidays! This is the time of year when the personal financial success magazines all display catchy titles (like the title of my blog post) to get you to purchase their magazine. The reader is hoping to glean the big secret that...
Read MoreConsider Conversation and Creativity Before Sending Kids to College
While students sit in lectures, happy to be back at college, countless parents are sitting at kitchens table wondering how to pay for their child’s education. Here’s how crazy it’s become: Families spent an average of...
Read MoreInjecting AWESOME experiences into your life: The Leonsis Top 101
Through a speech he gave at the Verizon Center, Ted Leonsis taught me AWESOME experiences require BIG goals.
Read MoreLifetime Cash Flow - Open Letter to Noah and Josephus Lyles
Dear Noah and Josephus, Congratulations on your accomplishments and your recent declaration of going professional. I’m a resident of the City of Alexandria and volunteer at TC Williams High School as part of the Academy of...
Read MoreMOST POWERFUL Investing Question I Ever Heard
In August of 2011, I paid to travel to NYC to spend three days at a Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) conference at the Grand Hyatt New York with 600 other financial advisors from all over the country. It was at this conference that I...
Read MoreHow to Save More Money
Life in the DMV is expensive. According to marketwatch.com May 15, 2016 post by Catey Hill, life in the DMV is THE MOST expensive place to raise a family in America. Building and maintaining a systematic savings plan can be challenging...
Read MoreCommon Questions with Estate Planning Documents
First, a disclaimer. I did not go to law school. I'm not an Attorney, nor have I ever played one on television. The information below should be used as information only and to ask an Attorney before taking action on anything and...
Read MoreWho is your Tom Hagen?
In the first two Godfather movies, there is a character named Tom Hagen who is the consigliere to the family. The word means counselor or adviser to the boss. This special adviser is a close, trusted friend and confidant. He is devoid...
Read MoreMoney and Time: The Two Currencies of Life
There are two currencies in life: Money and Time. Both can dwindle quickly when not treated with respect. This is my story about respecting time through good health habits. When I was 34-years old, my doctor informed me my poor health...
Read MoreMillion Dollar Moments - Review Your Auto Coverage TODAY
Imagine today is the first warm spring day of the year. The car windows are down and your favorite song is on the radio. While passing through an intersection (green light for you), you are broadsided by a man texting while driving....
Read MoreBudget is a BAD WORD
Many people start each year with reflecting upon the past year and making goals/plans for the New Year. A common resolution that makes the list for those that follow this annual ritual is some form of ‘Follow a Budget’ to get a handle...
Read MoreOpen Letter to The POWERBALL BILLION DOLLAR Winner
Dear Winner, Congratulations! You've hit the jackpot of all jackpots. Exciting, very exciting! Now, lets get back on the ground and think this through. This event has the potential to completely ruin your life. When word gets out that...
Read More184.4 lbs!
This journey started the week of Thanksgiving and ended on Sunday, January 3, 2016. Over the last six weeks, I ran over 115 miles and burned over 16,500 calories during a combined 18 hours of workouts. My weight goal was 184 lbs and I...
Read MoreWe Are Halfway There! Taking the holidays to get into GREAT SHAPE!
We are twenty-three days out from my last blog post where I offered up the challenge of losing TWO POUNDS over SIX WEEKS. Sounds easy enough…until I suggested the six-weeks that straddle Thanksgiving and New Years! Since that day, I’ve...
Read MoreHow to Get an AWESOME Start to 2016
Physical Fitness Can Lead to Financial Fitness. How to Get an AWESOME start to 2016 by eliminating the need for one common New Year's Resolution!
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